The county council in Vaslui County, Romania awarded last December Chevron the right to drill an exploratory well for shale gas in a locality within the Barlad concession that covers some 600,000 hectares in North East Romania.

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Chevron will drill its first exploratory well in the Paltinis village, within the Bacesti locality in rural Vaslui.

People in this region took to the streets three times last year to protest the exploitation of shale gas through franking.

Dumitru Buzatu, president of the Vaslui county council, said that Chevron's permitting is legal.

"If we hadn't approved a legal request, we would have been accused on misfeasance. Those that are commenting now have granted the concession and made the Chevron request possible. We have just approved it, something which is perfectly legal," said Buzatu, quoted by Agerpres newswire.

The next step for Chevron is to obtain a construction permit before it can start exploratory drilling, Buzatu, said.

The EU has so far declined to comment on individual decisions by member countries to ban or to develop shale gas. According to a recent study published by the European Commission, there is no need for specific EU legislation on shale gas, at least for the time being.